Chương 4: Chapter 3: Determination 2
"Wow...this isn't the first time you've seen this?" Mod shook her head no and Rosan nearly laughed. "People are really stupid!"
"Yes they are Rosan. Yes they are." The Devil Fruit quickly focused on the problem at hand and thought of what to do.
"Do as he says for now until an opening is available," Mod informed him and Rosan internally hummed an affirmative. "As expected, I'll be bailing you out," Mod confidently replied with a rather cheeky smile that she had picked up from the redhead himself.
Rosan cursed his mistake. If he knew Mod-chan was gonna get such an ego off of this, he would have been even more careful. Now, she was gonna be insufferable and he was going to be the target.
"You know me so well," she said fondly and Rosan rolled his eyes again.
Rosan purposely removed his hoodie slowly just to aggravate the captain. He was easy to rile up and the redhead was pretty good at annoying people!
Daichi gained a vein of annoyance on his face as he was greeted by a simple white mask, 2 purple glowing iris, and a shock of red hair. He could practically feel the smugness radiating off the freak and that pissed him off to no end.
"You think your so funny huh?!" He snarled. "I'm Daichi of the Saber pirates and your games end here. I can blow your brains out in seconds, so you better stop acting all high and mighty! Take off your mask NOW!" He demanded.
He bristled as the only thing that greeted him was pure silence.
The captain of the Saber Pirates felt his foul mood mounting. This… thing had attacked them unprovoked, taken out all of his crew members, including his best friend, and now, he was teasing him even after having a gun pointed at him?!
Bullshit.
"SAY SOMETHING YOU FUCKER!" Daichi bellowed finally losing his temper as the stress of today's events finally caught up to him.
"Such foul language," Mod sniffed and Rosan nearly laughed at how genuinely bothered she seemed. Moving his gloved hand to his face, Rosan begun removing his mask at an agonizingly slow pace, much to the fury of the man, if the way he was trembling was indication.
Teasing the man was pretty funny and, despite the situation, Rosan wasn't worried at all.
He had Mod-chan after all!
Right before he fully removed his mask, Rosan smiled in mischief.
Daichi had asked him to speak after all!
The redhead cleared his throat to catch the mans attention and Daichi couldn't help but lean forward in anticipation to catch his voice. Rosan's smile turned into a full blown grin that Daichi, of course, didn't see.
"Modify: Shrink," Rosan said in clear amusement before he vanished from the captains sight.
Rosan laughed in malicious glee as he shrunk. The look on Daichi's face was utterly priceless. His jaw had dropped as Rosan practically vanished from sight before the man let out a string of curses and began unloading his chamber in a renewed fury.
The redhead would cherish the sheer rage on the captains face at being fooled for a long time.
Daichi must have thought Rosan had camouflaged again and was hoping to get a lucky shot. It was a good idea, invisible didn't mean intangible after all.
Unfortunately, this wasn't invisibility. Rosan had modified his size and shrunk himself to nearly microscopic to fool the man! The redhead knew what his thought process was going to be when he vanished from his sight again.
"He's invisible again."
Rosan took full advantage of that.
It had worked out well AND he made the man look like an idiot.
Rosan absolutely loved Modification.
"A-already 4 and playing mind games? What a scary child," Mod said with a bright blush on her face.
Closing his eyes, like he had promised, Rosan let Mod-chan take control. A blush dusted over the youths face as Mod took control and his eyes turned a blood red.
The purple haired woman needed to get used to Rosan's sincere compliments of her. They were too good at catching her off guard. Shaking her head, Mod decided to focus on the task at hand.
Quickly maneuvering the possessed boys body, Mod ran up to Daichi. The man had completely lost it and was just shooting in every single direction. How sad, he had become a complete lunatic in his fury and had no regards for anything, some shots were even hitting his unconscious crewmates. How ruthless.
It was up to her to put this animal down.
Reaching him Mod quickly got behind him and jumped. "Modify: Revert," she intoned. Rosan microscopic body grew instantly into his normal form and she reached out to grab at his head, blood red eyes glowing bright.
Daichi whirled around, but it was too late. The only thing that greeted him, were two red irises glowing sinisterly behind that white mask.
As he felt a hand grasp his head, Daichi shook in a primal fear. Since attacking their ship, this…thing had not struggled even once. T-this wasn't a normal p-person.
This was a monster.
"W-wait pleas —," he tried but the figure refused to listen.
"Modification: Jam." Were the last things he heard before his world went blank.
Rosan grunted as he threw Daichi over the ship. That had been the last person to go and Rosan didn't even bother to watch after he threw them over. Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Rosan marveled at how well he had done.
"You're pretty incredible Mod-chan! What was that last move you did on Daichi though?" Rosan wondered. Mod just touched him and he blanked out! What was it called again? Jam?
Rosan wanted to learn it! It could be really cool!
"I jammed his brain. He saw the color of your hair so, on the off chance he lives, I disabled his brain so he won't be able to tell anyone a single detail about you…or anything else for that matter," Mod replied as if she were discussing the weather.
"Hey, isn't that kinda really scary? You shouldn't say that in such a nonchalant tone Mod-chan," Rosan said with a sweatdrop. Mod-chan was actually pretty terrifying when she wanted to be. The Devil Fruit was capable of doing some scary things without seeming phased whatsoever.
Rosan was thankful that she spoiled him rotten.
Rosan suddenly recalled something said in the battle and frowned. "Mod-chan, there might be someone else on the ship."
Mod nodded proudly at his statement "Well done on noticing that Rosan," She praised. "Based on what Daichi said, someone named Robin is likely on this ship. It's possible that he was lying since no one answered him, but its best to proceed with caution."
Rosan agreed. Crouching slightly, the 4 year old touched the surface of the ship. "Modification: Scan-"
"Wait just a moment please," a voice interrupted the redhead. "I believe you were looking for me?" A childlike voice said and Rosan paused what he was doing.
Looking up, Rosan tilted his head as a kid who looked a few years older than him appeared.
She wasn't very tall (though that still made her taller than him) with a darker tan that was lighter then Rosan's own, shoulder length black hair and blue eyes with dark wide pupils. She also had a long, thin and defined nose. She wore a simple black dress that stopped above her knees and matching black flops. She looked incredibly weary and, despite trying to appear as non threatening as possible, she had her guard up.
Huh. Rosan blinked in confusion at what he was looking at.
This was definitely not what he'd been expecting.
Someone around his age? Sailing the sea? The boy wondered what her circumstances were for her to be with such a crew like the Saber Pirates.
The boy shuddered as he felt a spike of rage from Mod-chan. Was she okay? What had caused her to get so angry?
Robin, seeing that she hadn't been attacked yet, hesitantly continued with her plan. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't throw me overboard. I can't swim," She requested politely.
The figured continued starting at her with its head tilted. They did not indicate having even heard her question.
Robin was starting to think this was a bad idea. The girl really didn't have much choice though. It was either that or risk fighting this…person? She was pretty sure they were a human from what little of their appearance she had seen.
If that idiot Daichi hadn't blown her cover, she could have waited and seen just what the figure before her wanted. But instead, she was forced her to alter her plans. Robin doubted they were here for her but that didn't make her situation any less worse. She was lucky that they didn't attack her immediately and took that as a sign that they was at least willing to hear her out.
It would suck if the brunette blew her cover for no reason. She could have just stayed hidden and used her Devil Fruit but…based on what she saw, if they landed one touch on her, it was game over.
Robin had no clue how a fight between the two of them would turn out but she didn't want to chance it.
Like she established, if they touched her she was going to end up exactly like the rest of the crew. The Hana Hana no mi user shuddered as she recalled the glowing red where his eyes would be and a lifeless Daichi falling over. At least the red glow was gone, replaced instead by a dim glowing purple.
She had to hope that it would be possible to negotiate with them. Glancing nervously around, she was only greeted with the sound of waves. There was no island in sight and the figure had already thrown the rest of the crew overboard.
"You're Robin?" they suddenly asked with their head tilted in an oddly cute display.
Robin started at how suddenly they spoke. The mask they had on muffled their voice enough that she couldn't quite tell what gender they were. Remembering that he asked her a question, Robin hastily confirmed by saying, "Yes, I'm Nico Robin." After a moment's pause, she couldn't help but ask "You haven't heard about me?"
"Am I supposed to know you?" was their confused response, head still tilted as they looked her up and down.
Robin was shocked. After all, it wasn't every day that someone didn't recognize the "Devil Child". If they really weren't aware of who she was, that definitely ruled out the possibility that he was here for her.
"That doesn't make any sense though." Robin contemplated, deep in thought. No one on this ship, barring her, had any relevance at all. They were an upstart group and they hadn't even truly begun pirating.
They didn't even have any bounties! Surely they had a reason for attacking this ship in particular? She hadn't heard of news of any ships getting attacked by a mini black clad figure. Unless they had recently started, this was likely their first target. So that begged the question...
"Why did you attack them? Why aren't you attacking me?" Robin asked them. She was curious on who this person was and what they wanted. She nearly regretted asking the questions as they just kept staring at her.
It was unnerving.
The masked figure didn't answer her question. Instead they opted to ask her "How old are you? Did those pirates do anything to you?"
Robin contemplated lying, but decided against it. "I'm 8 years old and no they didn't do anything. They are afraid of me but, thank you for your concern." She replied politely though inside she was even more confused.
You don't just brutalize an entire ship one second and ask a question like that. Maybe he knew this crew personally if he was asking a question like that? That would explain his unprovoked attack.
Yeah that must be it.
Nodding to themself at her answer, they (she needed a name for this person) finally answered her question. "I wanted a ship…and you asked me not to throw you overboard."
The "idiot" went unsaid but Robin still heard it.
Resisting the sudden urge to choke them, Robin took a deep breath to try and stave off her annoyance. She quickly got it back under control before realizing what he had said. She nearly gaped in disbelief.
"You… attacked the people on this ship because you... Wanted it?" She managed to choke out.
He nodded like brutalizing an entire crew for a ship was a perfectly normal thing to do. Robin was sure that whoever was under that mask was not right in the head.
She was on a ship with someone who was probably insane. That didn't bode well for the 8 year old.
Just great…maybe she should have just stayed hidden.
Rosan, for his part, wasn't quite expecting this interaction.
Robin was young, much younger then he was expecting. While she was still older then him, his circumstances weren't exactly normal and he deduced that hers probably weren't either.
The other members were grown men so Rosan didn't really mind throwing them overboard. Mama told him to always treat girls with respect unless they disrespected him first though and she hadn't disrespected him. Since she was so nice to him, Rosan didn't really want to throw her overboard.
She also couldn't swim so she would definitely die.
Mod-chan had been silent since she had first laid eyes upon the girl. Rosan could tell that she wasn't happy whatsoever and it worried him. "Ask her how old she is and if those men did anything to her."
Rosan easily complied with her request and asked the girl who responded accordingly.
Hmm...so she was 4 years older then him. Rosan hummed to himself as he digested and Mod-chan let out a sigh of relief when Robin had said that they hadn't touched her.
Still, she must have been pretty important if she expected people to notice her at a glance! Rosan contemplated just what he was going to do with her. The child didn't wanna have to throw her overboard and, because of him, Mod-chan had a soft spot for children. She probably wouldn't want to do it either especially unprovoked and the redhead didn't want to force her to.
She had seen his hair though and Mod-chan had been adamant on not showing anyone his spiky red hair. It was too unique and stood out, was her response when he asked why. It would not be hard for people to distinguish him from it.
So now, the redhead was in a predicament. He was set on not throwing her off his newly acquired ship and Mod-chan was in agreement with him. He asked if she could wipe her memories and Mod-chan said she didn't currently have the control to safely wipe it, if she did it she'd most likely turn into a vegetable.
Still staring, Rosan watched as she fidgeted in discomfort. The boy couldn't help the concern welling up inside of him as he looked at her. Her entire demeanor bothered him. She looked so scarred. She looked lonely.
He couldn't stand that. It reminded him of himself.
"We should trust her, Mod-chan," Rosan thought to his Devil Fruit.
"What makes you think she's trustworthy?" Mod knew once Rosan made up his mind about something it was nearly impossible to change it. But, she still wanted to understand from his mouth what he was thinking.
It also helped that she wasn't adverse against the idea in the first place, she just had to be wary for the both of them.
"She looks so tired Mod-chan!" Rosan began and his voice was filled with sympathy. "She's only 4 years older then me but she looks like she's been through so much already and, unlike me, I don't think she's lucky enough to have someone like you to rely on so I want to be the one she can rely on! Everyone deserves at least one friend. We know better then anyone that nobody should ever feel alone and that's why we're friends!" Rosan exclaimed passionately to his guardian.
Mod's heart swelled at the speech Rosan just gave her. Honestly, he was such a sweetheart sometimes and it warmed her to the core. The 4 year old was one of a kind and she loved him for that.
He was also getting really good at giving speeches!
Voice fond, Mod said "Alright Rosan, I have no objections. If she agrees to travel with us, I will gladly accept her."
Rosan cheered internally as he heard her approval. He knew Mod-chan would support him! She always tried to put up a tough front but she was secretly a real sweetheart.
The 4 year old expertly ignored the feeling of being glared at by his Devil Fruit and instead focused on the visibly agitated Robin.
The girl looked like she was preparing for a fight! Rosan wondered how strong she—No! Bad Rosan! No trying to fight someone you're about to invite onto your almost awesome, but not yet, ship.
"Hey, Robin?" He said suddenly and watched as she lightly jumped at the sudden call of her name. Rosan winced at that. He didn't mean to put her on edge so much. It made him feel even more compelled to befriend her because the girl had serious trust issues!
Remembering he was still clad in his sneaking around outfit, Rosan slowly took his mask off, showing off all his features to his fellow child. Finally unmasked Rosan, asked "Do ya wanna be my friend and travel with me?"
Robin's eyes widened as the figure reached up and removed their mask. Crimson hair spiked down messily, as a dangerously young face gazed at her with shining, royal purple eyes.
Robin had not expected the mysterious attacker to be so…young and her open mouthed surprise was testament to this. Just how old were they? Were they by themselves? Where were his parents?! Was he...was he the same as her?
His (she assumed that they were a boy. Though, he did look a tad bit girly) height made much more sense now.
Finding the ability to speak again, it was Robin's turn to ask in a dumbfounded tone "Who are you? H-how old are you?" Maybe he was just cursed with permanent youth? A birth defect that made him unable to grow? A devil fruit ability most likely?
All her doubts were wiped away as he blinked at her sudden question and replied "I'm Portgas D. Rosan nice to meetcha! I'm 4!" as if it was no big deal at all.
Robin was sure anyone else in her shoes would have fainted at the sheer insanity that had occurred today but she had a reputation to upkeep.
He was 4?!
What type of 4 year old attacks a bunch of adults just for the sake of taking their ship?! Was he completely insane? He could have gotten hurt! He had gotta scratched with a knife! What 4 year old shrugs off a knife cut!
Wait…did he say his name was Portgas D. Rosan?
This boy had a D in his name?! This made him even more interesting in her eyes. But, what was it with people, who had the D initial, just doing whatever they pleased?! Surely not every one of them acted like this 4 year old.
Right?
No, she had to have been dreaming. "The events of today were just some freak fever dream," she tried convincing herself. To further prove her point, Robin pinched herself. Hard.
Rosan's gaze turned worried as Robin pinched herself and let out a tiny yelp of pain. Was she okay? Why did she just pinch herself? Oh...maybe she was one of the weirdos Mama had warned him about. Maybe he had made a mistake?
"Rosan...she's not a weirdo it's just...your well, you. I don't blame her for pinching herself."
"Gee, thanks Mod-chan!"
"How did you possibly take that as a compliment?"
"...It's not?"
"...No, it is Rosan."
Robin flushed as she saw the child still staring at her. Right, it wasn't a dream. This was real. Very real.
Fantastic.
Robin waved off his questioning gaze, saying she was fine, and felt a burst of annoyance at how he looked at her. The child was practically calling her stupid with just his purple gaze alone and Robin didn't think a child could successfully annoy her. She struggled to keep the cool facade on but, eventually the girl managed to get it under control.
Suddenly remembering that he had asked her a question, Robin felt her gaze widen as she fully registered what he had asked. "Did you just ask to be my friend?" He nodded in confirmation, a toothy grin on his face. "And…you want me to travel with you?" She asked in confusion.
Another cheerful nod, this time more enthusiastic then the first.
Robin resisted the urge to pinch herself again. Was it possible for a 4 year old to be insane? Rosan had just brutalized an entire crew by himself, with only a scratch to show for it, and now he was looking at her with those adorably large, shining eyes, practically begging her to accept his proposition with his gaze alone.
Yep, definitely insane.
Robin wasn't really in a position to refuse. She didn't really fancy her chances against the ocean, which she was sure she'd end up in, if she said no. The redhead had attacked them disguised and he seemed adamant on hiding his appearance. The 8 year old had managed to see his entire face and she knew that was not a good thing.
She at least ask wanted to know why on Earth he wanted to travel with her.
The brunette asked as much out loud and his head tilted in the way he seemed to instinctively do when he was thinking. She had to admit, it was pretty dang cute.
She wouldn't say it out loud though.
"I think it'll be pretty fun if we travel together!" He said cheerfully. There was a pregnant pause after that and, At her incredulous gaze, his face became more serious. The child's purple eyes turned downcast and he somberly said "I don't know you really well but, I know that look in your eyes. You…look like you lost something really important to you."
Robin's eyes nearly widened at that but she carefully masked it behind a neutral expression.
Unimpeded, Rosan continued softly "I know how it feels to have everything taken from you. It sucks. It's the worst feeling I've ever felt in my life and it must have been the same way with you." The boys voice turned a bit watery as he spoke and Robin knew he was telling the truth. "The sadness is so much that it makes you wanna crawl somewhere and just sleep it away. The loneliness is so crushing it just makes you want to give up."
Rosan looked up at her, royal purple locking on to sky blue, and said "You look really lonely Robin."
Robin's mask threatened to crack under the sheer intensity of his gaze. The 8 year old felt so small, so exposed at the way Rosan nailed all her insecurities with just a glance. Nobody had managed to do that in her time travelling.
Just who was this boy?
To know so much about what was going on in her mind at a glance…it was rather terrifying. More then that, The redheaded child had said he understood how she felt. What happened to him for him to relate to how she was feeling?
Was that why a 4 year old was sailing the seas alone?
Sympathy ran through her as that thought wormed its way into her head. Rosan was far too young to be forced into a position where he had to sail the seas alone. Though she was only 8, she had already been mostly independent back on Ohara. The loneliness of having no one didn't affect her as badly because for most of her life she had no one.
She couldn't say the same for the 4 year old boy standing before her.
"Don't you know who I am? They call me the "Devil Child" Nico Robin. I have a bounty of 79 million beris! You don't wanna be friends with someone like me," She said in hopes of scaring him off.
Nobody would willingly want to be friends with her after hearing who she was. This was how it always turned out! It would just put a giant target on their back.
Rosan for his part just stared at her. Slamming a fist into his palm, he said "Ohhh. That's why you were surprised I didn't recognize you!" and he laughed at the revelation. "What did you do to get a bounty so high?" the redhead asked in curious excitement.
Robin was a bit put off at his lack of fear at the revelation. She didn't let that deter her however. "I sunk 6 battleships," was her confident reply.
Rosan narrowed his eyes at her. "No you didn't. Don't lie to me, I don't like when people lie," he said bluntly and the boy scowled at her.
Robin deflated a bit at his matter of fact tone. Nobody ever doubted that claim before because, since the World Government said it, it must have been true.
Rosan didn't believe her for even one second. He could immediately sense that she was lying and that would do no good. The redhead was not fond of people lying to him, not even his mother could get away with it!
Defeated, Robin simply asked him "Well, why do you want to be friends with me?"
Determined eyes looked into her and Robin felt as if he could see right through her. It was scary to be dissected so easily at just a gaze. "Nobody should ever be forced to be alone," Rosan eventually said with sad eyes.
"You look exhausted Robin. You've probably never had anyone to rely on and that's not fair! I want to be your friend so that you can rely on me! I'll protect you when you get in trouble and you'll protect me when I get in trouble!" He finished with a hopeful grin on his face.
Robin felt something unfamiliar stir inside her at how sincere Rosan sounded. She wanted to dismiss his words as nothing but lies, but looking into his earnest gaze formed a lump in her throat that she couldn't quite get rid of.
He…really wanted to be her friend? She hadn't had a friend since…since Saul and because of her, he was-
Robin shook those thoughts away hastily and looked back at Rosan, the lump feeling heavier. She wanted to believe he was lying but she really couldn't looking into those eyes of his. How could he be lying with all the interactions they currently had? Based on what he was doing, all facts pointed to him being honest with her.
He had been protecting his identity, to the point where only the glow of his eyes were visible behind his guise, but he so willingly showed her his face. He invited her to the ship without even knowing her identity. When he did find out, nothing about his demeanor changed at all!
Rosan had even told her his name and the D. part had caused her eyes to widen in recognition.
He had the same middle initial as Saul…just what did it mean? They didn't look even remotely related and he didn't make it seem like the D. stood for anything. She knew there was something about that initial and for Rosan to disclose his full name to someone he just met, either meant he was really dumb or he really did want them to trust each other.
Rosan, as much she wanted to deny it, only had her best interests at heart which left her stumped. No one ever had her best interests at heart. That's why Robin was finding it so hard to believe that this wasn't a ploy to turn her into the Marines. But, just from how he spoke, from how optimistic he was about everything, she couldn't bring herself to believe that the 4 year old could plan something so underhanded.
No, Robin had gotten good at picking up on people who wanted to use her and Rosan wasn't one of them. The little monster had taken out an entire crew by himself, he didn't need her! If anything, she'd benefit more from using him then vice versa.
He was being completely genuine and that shook her to the core. They had only just met! Why did he suddenly care so much about her? He wasn't normal but…maybe his crazy was a good kind of crazy?
Hesitantly, Robin started heavily considering his proposition. Maybe deep down, she really did just want a friend. Or maybe, his insanity was contagious and she had fallen victim to it already.
"That second option, really does seem likely," Robin mused.
She began to feel oddly protective at the thought that he was traveling such dangerous waters by himself. Despite everything she had seen, the child looked so innocent, so vulnerable, so tiny. He really shouldn't be traveling by himself. Something bad could happen to him...
At the very least, he should have someone to watch his back.
Mod snorted sympathetically, the poor girl had already fallen to Rosan's charm. "Welcome to the club," she thought to herself.
Robin tried to make it seem like she was contemplating still but truthfully, her mind had already been made up the moment she heard Rosan's speech. The boy had long since won her over and she was just playing it up for theatrics at this point.
Latching onto the last part of the boy's speech, The Hana Hana no mi user mirthfully said "Something tells me, I'll be doing a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to protecting each other."
Rosan's grin widened in excitement at her acceptance and Robin noted that he had particularly sharp fangs. Said grin quickly turned into confusion, then protest. "H-hey we haven't even known each other for long! How can you already tell that I'm reckless?" He said, admitting it without meaning too. The boy immediately recognized his mistake and hung his head in defeat.
Robin couldn't help the giggle that escaped her at the child's antics. He was pretty funny!
Unbeknownst to her, Mod-chan joined her in laughing at the boy. Mod decided that she would like this girl just fine.
Rosan began regretting his decision. If Mod-chan and Robin got along then…wouldn't that mean...they'd start bullying him? He didn't like the sound of that. He really didn't like the sound of that.
"Bully? Me? I would never," Mod said cheerfully and Rosan shuddered at her tone.
Maybe he shouldn't have done this.
Robin was convinced that traveling with Rosan was gonna give her more headaches then was worth.
Why? Because he was insane of course.
The 4 year old's entire demeanor screamed chaotic. It's not like it was intentional either, it was just in his nature to do things that made him happy and they happened to be very...peculiar.
He was a boy that did what he wanted to do and he did that with scary effectiveness.
Things had started off normal enough. Rosan had gotten cut from his altercation with the, now defunct, Saber Pirates and it caused him slight discomfort. It was a long, but shallow cut so it wasn't anything too threatening. Robin offered to patch up the already healing cut (which was much healing faster then she expected).
Rosan happily accepted her aid with a beaming grin on his bronze face.
Leading him to the medical room, Robin found a medical gauze and got to work on patching his cut up.
Robin noted that he was a natural bronze as she patched him up. Robin doubted 4 year old's knew tanning techniques and she knew for a fact Rosan didn't care about that. Coupled with his, too bright, purple eyes and his spiky red hair (that was surprisingly soft!), the brunette could see why he was so intent on hiding his appearance.
It was remarkably unique. If he became well known, it would be easy to spot him.
Rosan hummed a happy tune as Robin worked and the 8 year old idly bobbed her head to the sound. "He has a nice voice," Robin thought idly to herself. Did his parents used to sing to him?
As she finished wrapping his cut up, Robin signaled that she was done and Rosan got up, marveling at her handiwork. "Thanks Robin-nee, you're the best!" The purple eyed boy beamed at her.
"Robin-nee?" Testing it on her tongue slowly Robin found that she quite liked it. Smiling bashfully at Rosan, she said "It's no problem, Rosan."
Afterwards, Rosan had scurried back to the main deck. The boy looked like he wanted to do something so Robin followed after him, full of curiosity. As they both made it back outside Rosan glanced around nodding to himself still humming all the while.
Robin watched in confusion as Rosan crouched down and palmed the floor.
"Modify," He muttered. Robin's confusion turned into shock as the entire ship began to shake. The 8 year old fell on her butt as the rumbling of the caravel removed her balance.
Robin's eyes widened as the entire ship transformed. It became slimmer and sleek. The brown shade of the caravel had turned a striking black with white rose patterns decorating the side.
Unseen to Robin, the interior of the ship had changed too. Rosan had changed it so that, similarly to his old Dinghy, it would be able to move on its own without the boy needing to manually do anything.
What? He was only 4 years old after all! Couldn't expect him to operate the ship by himself just yet! …Or ever with the changes.
"You will still be learning how to operate one, just in case," Mod chimed in and Rosan nodded in affirmation.
The Mod Mod no mi user made the ship a bit smaller for speed and for easier uses of Modification in the future. This wasn't going to be the last time he modified this ship, he was sure of that. The boy was always seeking improvement and that applied to the things surrounding him as well.
He found that modifying something that had already been modified by him made it much easier to change again! When he first modified something, it left him drained depending on the scale of what he was doing.
Case in point, Rosan panted in exhaustion after finishing his latest task.
He nearly fell over, but managed to catch himself at the last second. That was the first time he had modified something so large and he didn't even need Mod-chan to help him! Her lessons were paying off nicely and Rosan was glad ships were the first thing she taught him about.
The redhead was utterly exhausted from the taxing ability though.
He was really hungry, now that he thought about it. He hoped Robin knew how to cook, Mod-chan could do a lot of things… but, she was absolutely horrible at cooking and the less said about Rosan's cooking (for now!) the better.
Mod flushed at that. It wasn't her fault! The Devil Fruit had never needed to cook before so it was natural she wouldn't know how to cook. Still "You don't have to be so rude about it Rosan." She pouted and Rosan sheepishly apologized to her.
"Um," they both suddenly heard. Turning towards a wide eyed Robin, she asked "W-what did you just...do?"
Rosan tried to answer but moaned "Food" instead. The poor boy looked ready to keel over and his face was morphed into pain.
Taking pity on the pathetic display, Robin shook her head in exasperation and walked over to him. Robin helped him up, he was light, and slung his tiny arm over her shoulder. Walking towards the kitchen, Robin rolled her eyes.
He was lucky she knew how to cook.
Rosan let out a satisfied sigh as he finished eating the sandwiches Robin made for him. "You really know how to cook Robin-nee! Without you, who knows what I'd have made!" Rosan grinned thankfully at her.
Robin blushed bashfully at his praise and said "It's nothing. I'm no master chef, but I'm used to cooking for myself. I learned how to make a decent meal out of having to do so."
Rosan nodded in understanding with a look of content on his face. Robin, seeing that this was as good as time as any, decided it was the perfect time to start grilling Rosan.
"Rosan…" Seeing him glance questioningly at her, Robin continued. "You have a Devil Fruit right? Would you mind telling me what it is?" She asked hopefully. To give him further incentive, she hastily added on "I can show you mine too!"
Rosan's eyes widened at the revelation and the boy asked "You have a Devil Fruit too?!" At her confirmation, Rosan let a marveled noise escape him.
"What is it! Show me!" He practically demanded as his purple eyes shone in curiosity.
Robin wasn't even surprised at this point about the boy completely disregarding her question. Crossing her arms together she summoned a single arm on Rosan's shoulder and began pinching him on his cheek.
That would teach him to not be so rude!
To her surprise though, Rosan didn't scream like she expected. Instead, he let out an excited squeal and began messing with the sprouted arm. Robin gasped as the boy shook her hand and then prodded and poked it.
The sensation transferred back to her and the brunette hastily dissolved the arm. She sprouted two more and began to tickle Rosan in revenge.
The effects were immediate.
Rosan let out a yelp of surprise and fell over. She momentarily paused what she was doing until she realized the boy was laughing.
"W-wait!" Rosan begged in between fits of laughter. "Stop w-why does e-everyone a-always tickle me- pfft kahahahaha!" He failed to finish his sentence as he began to helplessly laugh from the torture.
Robin burst into laughter. She couldn't help it! Rosan's laughter was just too contagious. She giggled mirthfully at the hilarity of it all.
Unable to maintain her fruit anymore, Robin collapsed in a fit of laughter releasing Rosan. Finally free from her evil clutches Rosan, still laughing, launched himself at her and decided to give her a taste of her own medicine.
Robin squealed as Rosan mercilessly tickled her. Finally, a person he could get revenge on! Mama had been unbeatable, boasting a perfect record against the young boy but, Robin was fair game!
Rosan maliciously took advantage of this fact and tickled Robin like his life depended on it. The girl pleaded for him to stop in between laughter but Rosan would have his vengeance!
Mod-chan smiled fondly all the while. It was good that Rosan had a friend around his age and, based on what she had heard, it was good for Robin too.
The two deserved a little bit of companionship.
"So your devil fruit is called the Hana Hana no mi and it lets you sprout pieces of your body? That's so cool!"
After their tickle war, a smug Rosan sat on one of the stools, Robin opposite to him, and finally got back on topic. The redhead had made sure to gloat his victory endlessly after Robin had chosen to wave the white flag though.
Robin's halfhearted glare was quickly wiped away, in favor of a blush, at his unexpected praise. "You think it's cool?" At Rosans enthusiastic nod Robin smiled. That was the second time someone complimented her Devil Fruit and it felt just as nice as the first time.
Robin listened to Rosan ramble about ways she could use her fruit and while some were interesting, others were rather silly (really, a giant version of her made solely from her feet?), she would note some of them for later.
But first.
"Rosan, you never told me what your Devil Fruit was." Robin interrupted. Crossing her arms she fixed Rosan with a heavy stare. She knew now that it was just Rosan being Rosan and that the boy was prone to move from topic to topic quickly but, she wouldn't let him do it this time. He just needed someone to firmly keep him on track.
Rosan blinked before a guilty expression overcame his features. She did ask him what his Devil Fruit was didn't she? Instead of answering her though, he had been rude instead, not answering her at all. He really needed to stop changing the topic so much! Mama had said that it was a bad habit of his and that was why people didn't really like talking to him much...
Rosan contemplated on how to best tell her what his Devil Fruit was. He didn't have a problem telling her. On the contrary, Rosan was very eager to tell her about the Mod Mod no mi.
His fruit was just as cool as hers! No, it was even cooler!
But, he needed to prove that it was cooler. Rosan rubbed his chin as he thought on how best to approach this. "Rosan… is this really necessary. You can merely tell her what it is, I'm not really seeing the big deal about it?"
Rosan dismissed her suggestion immediately. "You don't get it Mod-chan! I need to let Robin-nee know just how cool you are…wait a minute, I got it!" Inspiration struck Rosan as his eyes sparkled.
"I can just have her meet you!"
Rosan quickly checked with Mod-chan to see if his new plan was possible. "I-I've never really thought about doing that but you can try it. I can make sure that nothing goes wrong."
Eyes glowing in excitement, Rosan practically warped in Robin's personal space and grabbed her hand. "Robin-nee! Do you trust me?" The bronze boy asked as purple eyes blatantly pleaded for her to say yes.
Robin felt a sweatdrop form as she reluctantly said "Yes Rosan, I trust you." The boy was so pushy sometimes! Even if she wanted to say no, the impending heartbreak on his face would have instantly shattered her resolve.
Something told her she was going to regret this decision but it was hard to say no to Rosan. He was lucky that she actually did trust him, he was so genuine and honest when talking to her! It was such an unfamiliar feeling and Robin found that she liked being treated like an actual person.
How could she not trust him?
...Being insane and compelling was not a combination Robin wanted to run into again.
Rosan cheered in glee, making her smile, and quickly made the brunette shut her eyes. Tiny palms connected to her equally small ones and Robin started a bit.
She had noticed earlier, during their tickle war, but it was even more apparent now. Rosan radiated a lot of warmth! It was very comforting and the heat helped calm Robin down immensely.
Rosan began speaking and Robin focused on his voice, palms still connected. "Modification, Link:...," he began and Robin noted that all the times she heard him use his ability he either said Modification or Modify.
Was Modification the name of his ability?
"...Users Robin, Rosan."
Robin was a bit concerned, when a slight buzzing noise suddenly appeared in the back of her head.
That concern quickly morphed into shock, as the sudden feeling of moving despite being completely still washed over her. She was tempted to open her eyes, but against her, probably better, judgment she decided to fully trust Rosan and kept her eyes closed.
The feeling of being moved only got more intense and Robin gasped at the incredibly strange sensation. What was Rosan doing? Was she okay?
Well, there was no use backing out now that she was in this deep. The Hana Hana no mi user decided to stop resisting the pull and let herself go.
Robin promptly blacked out.
When Robin opened her eyes again, she was greeted by 2 sets of eyes.
One was the large, worried, purple gaze that she quickly identified as Rosan.
The other was a pair of glowing crimson eyes that stared at her with a neutral expression.
Robin contemplated getting up, but the grass she was resting on felt rather pleasant. It wasn't often that she got to truly relax and she decided not to take it for granted. Maybe traveling with Rosan wasn't so bad of an idea after all.
Wait. Grass? That wasn't right at all.
Robin shot up with wide eyes, glancing around wildly. This wasn't the ship. Where was she? How long had she been sleeping for?
Whirling onto Rosan, she watched as the boy flinched and asked him as much. Holding his arms in a placating gesture did nothing for her nerves and the boy soothingly said "Robin-nee calm down! You just woke up, you shouldn't be so alarmed."
She reluctantly agreed that he raised a good point.
Taking a deep breath, Robin calmed down just a little and glared coldly at Rosan. "When you asked me to trust you," She began with a hard stare "I didn't expect you to kidnap me."
She had trusted the boy and this was what that got her? This is why she never let her guard down around people. No matter how pure their intentions seemed, it was probably a lie.
Rosan must have been a master of emotional manipulation because the hurt in his eyes at her accusation, made the girl falter.
Waving his arms wildly, Rosan said "Wait wait we're still on the ship! I would never kidnap you Robin-nee!"
Robin shot him an unimpressed look as she glanced around and said "This sure doesn't look like a ship Rosan." Looking at the purple haired woman she added distrustfully "And who's your friend? Is she the one who set this up? Your mom?"
The two looked somewhat similar. This woman was a slightly lighter shade then Rosan, with a pretty heart shaped face, enhanced by her sharp features, a button nose and plump lips. She had long, royal purple hair that was a similar shade as Rosan's eyes and blood red eyes that were a similar shade to Rosan's hair…
Honestly, Robin would be hard pressed to find someone as pretty as her. She looked like royalty and, coupled with the long black dress, that may not have been far from the truth.
The woman in question just looked at her with a blank expression on those gorgeous feature. She didn't say anything and the stranger was just assessing her with those, oddly familiar, red eyes.
Ah, she was an ice queen then.
"Just let me explain Robin-nee!" Rosan pleaded and Robin sighed, loosening her rigid stance.
Rosan, based on the look in his eyes, hadn't meant to give her a scare. The little boy looked guilty at the fact that he had managed to cause her such anxiety and watching his regret helped to lessen the anger she was feeling.
"I'm not angry at you anymore Rosan. But, a bit more of a warning besides "close your eyes" would be really nice," she said. Exasperated, she gestured for him to explain just what was going on and he nodded thankfully at her for forgiving him.
It couldn't have been that bad after all.
It could definitely be that bad and the brunette sorely regretted tempting fate.
Never again. She would leave fate out of this because it seemed to have a terrible sense of humor.
Robin wasn't sure if her head spinning, was because of the fact she was still dizzy, or because of the sheer insanity of what Rosan had just told her. At this point, she was sure it was both of the options.
Turns out, they actually were still on the ship. The surprise on Robin's face at seeing her unconscious body on the deck, was surely a moment she'd look back at in the future and laugh at. But right now, all she could settle for, was letting out a strangled gasp as disbelief seeped into her.
She was informed that they were located in Rosan's mindscape, a mental representation of the boy himself. Looking at the bright tropical forest, Robin definitely agreed that it was an accurate representation of the sunny redhead standing before her.
That had brought them to the next point, that made any of this even possible.
Rosan's Devil Fruit, the Mod Mod no mi and Modification herself.
When Robin had learned that the red eyed woman standing next to Rosan was his Devil Fruit she almost laughed.
Instead, she fixed him with an unimpressed look. Surely, this was a prank of some kind that Rosan had been planning for who knows how long!
But no, she actually was his Devil Fruit. Not only did Rosan seemingly have the first conscious Devil Fruit, she was the normal one of the two! Mod-chan (as Rosan affectionately called her) had taken over on the explanation in Rosan's stead.
Rosan's plan had been to link the two of them together. He had taken inspiration from linking with his inanimate objects and decided to link to an actual person instead! Was it potentially dangerous? Maybe! But all the good stuff had dangers behind them!
Learning about the capabilities of Modification, made Robin completely understand why it was imperative that Rosan kept this fruit a secret. It was dangerous. Dangerous enough to make a 4 year old stronger than fully grown adults. Weak adults, but still adults.
It was no surprise at all that the World Government wanted it in their clutches.
Despite everything, this had only strengthened her trust in Rosan. She felt flattered that he would share such an important secret with her and it made the thought of him wanting to be her friend, so much more believable.
Robin was surprised he put so much faith in her but, she wouldn't let him down.
Glancing around at the spacious forest, Robin had to admit that Modification was capable of doing incredible things. Rosan told her that he had linked their minds together so that he could drag her into his mindscape!
That sounded incredibly advanced… and potentially dangerous? Did that mean Rosan could… control people to some degree? It's not like he had to ask her for permission. If the boy wanted to, he could have just forcefully linked them together.
Robin shuddered at the seemingly innocent technique. If Rosan ever used it maliciously, it would be terrifying to go against.
Mod had reassured her that she scolded the child properly. Robin had promptly scolded him afterwards after learning that was his first time doing it. The boy glumly accepted it but he was forgiven quickly. It was pretty adorable to watch him puff his cheeks out.
The 8 year old was glad Rosan had someone as reliable as Mod watching his back. The purple haired woman was Rosan's guardian and she took that job very seriously.
Robin had been a little intimidated by the stony gaze of the women, but Rosan himself had broken that facade with just a few choice compliments. It was funny to see her pretty face adopt an atomic blush as she began stuttering.
The Hana Hana no Mi user was relieved, in a strange sort of way, that she wasn't the only one unused to getting complimented and falling victim to Rosan's charm.
She was actually much nicer then she let on. Unlike Rosan, she was reserved and polite and Robin quite liked her! Mod stated that she had already taken a liking to Robin as well, which is why she had approved the redheads idea of traveling together.
They also both loved messing with Rosan so that was a bonus! The boy protested loudly at the unfair treatment already and puffed his cheeks out in anger.
They were currently inside of a hot pink house. The interior of the house looked as if someone had been steadily working on it. Some parts were bare, left untouched by who she suspected to be Rosan, and others were decorated.
This room in particular seemed like it had already been completed. The area resembled a lounge with white walls. On the walls, were various pieces of art but the ones that stuck out the most to her were a poster of a gigantic, black and red, fire breathing dragon along with another that had a beautiful woman with pink-blonde hair and freckles.
The floor was blanketed with a black wool carpet with leather chairs on top of them. There was also a large potted plant in the corner that seemed to grow…fruits?
How did that work?
They each sat on one of the leather chairs as they got to know more about each other. Robin had learned that Rosan was from the summer island Baterilla.
It was interesting because, Robin had come to the South Blue specifically for that island. Not to go to it of course! The brunette had heard that there was a heavy concentration of marines on the island and she figured it would give her the chance to lay low, unlike in West Blue, where they were highly alert for the Devil Child.
Robin figured the Marines had something to do with why Rosan left the island. She asked as much but, for once, Rosan's happy demeanor had completely vanished in favor of sadness. "Maybe some other time Robin-nee," he said, suddenly sounding depressed "I promise I'll tell you eventually, but if I do now, I'll start crying alot," was his sullen explanation.
Robin nodded understandingly. Anything that would force a child, as young as him, to flee had to have been hard to talk about. She assumed one of the reasons had to do with Mod herself, but that couldn't be the only reason. If it were he'd just have to hide the fact that he had her in the first place.
There was another reason but Robin didn't mind waiting for him to open up.
Instead, as a show of trust, she told Rosan and Mod about what happened on Ohara.
She told them how her fellow scholars had been ruthlessly killed by the Marines simply because they were capable of reading the Poneglyphs. She told him of the horrors that was a Buster Call, how her entire island had gotten assaulted and wiped off the planet by the Marines because they were deemed too dangerous.
Robin told him the real reason that her bounty was as high as it was. She was the last person on the planet who could still read the Poneglyphs and how even before her island was destroyed she was considered an outcast due to her Devil Fruit and had no friends as a result.
Throughout her entire explanation, she carefully watched both of their expressions.
Mod was hard to read, she had put up that carefully woven mask. The only sign that what she was even affected, was the slight furrow of her brow and how she lightly bit her lip. As Robin continued to inform them of what happened to her though, her expression slowly melted into equal amounts fury and concern. Robin felt touched that so much concern was being directed her way.
She had honestly never felt so much…
Rosan wasn't difficult to read at all, but that made it all the more scary. Rosan radiated such palpable malice and it was unnerving. She hadn't known him for long but she could tell, by the worried side glance from Mod, that this wasn't normal. He was so...angry. Grit teeth were bared showing how sharp his fangs were and he clenched his fists so hard she feared he would draw blood.
Most terrifying, however, were his eyes. Those mesmerizing purple orbs weren't glowing like they normally did.
No instead, the shine had vanished completely replaced by a dark glacial glare that made her shudder. It was like looking into the depths of the ocean.
It was wrong.
She found herself dearly missing the way his eyes strangely glowed. They were much better then how empty they looked currently.
A small part of her feared that Rosan was upset with her.
When she finally finished, the 8 year old slumped over, mentally exhausted, due to the tale she told. She had no tears remaining for Ohara, they had already been spent months ago, so her eyes remained dry but that didn't mean she wasn't tired.
Footsteps alerted her of a presence approaching and she watched as Rosan abruptly got up and began walking towards her. Months of living in paranoia, made Robin cringe back as he finally reached her. What he did however, surprised her.
Rosan hugged her.
It was a tight hug, full of love and understanding, and Robin had never felt anything like it before. Feeling another set of arms wrap around her tiny frame, Robin was shocked to see Mod had joined as well.
Why? Why were they being so nice to her?
She was the Devil Child. The entire world feared her. Everyone she allied with eventually faced destruction and yet she always managed to get away. She was a curse, an omen of only bad things to come. Everything she held dear, had been destroyed in front of her. Her mother, killed, her only friend, frozen solid. Robin had lost everything and the small girl forgot what it felt like to have bonds. It was in everyone's best interest to stay away from her and she agreed with them. The 8 year old didn't want to form relationships with people just so they could die because of her.
So why…why couldn't she push Rosan away?
"Robin-nee, it's okay I understand." Rosan said softy, contrasting how angry he had looked before. "You don't have to be alone anymore Robin. Please be a little selfish," the boy requested as he gently rubbed her back.
"We're here for you. No matter what, okay? I'll protect you with everything I've got always, I promise." Rosan swore.
"He's right Robin," Mod agreed and Robin was so surprised to see that same caring look that she reserved for Rosan…aimed at her of all people.
"We haven't known you for long, but I'm already quite fond of you. So, I will help you in anyway that I can." They both continued hugging her and it was clear that they did not planning on letting her go in the slightest.
Robin couldn't help the emotions overwhelming her. The brunette burst into tears as she clutched tiny Rosan's frame and sobbed into his shirt.
She hadn't realized, but for so long she had desperately craved this. The unconditional support and care from someone was something that she severely lacked growing up. Just one person, was enough. That's all she asked for and, now that she had finally received it, it was too much for the little girl.
So she cried and cried.
Rosan and Mod silently held onto her accepting her tears with not a single noise. They would not interrupt her breakdown. They had told her to be selfish and so, they let her cry.
She needed this.
As Rosan idly rubbed her hair, the same way he enjoyed getting his hair rubbed, Robin's cries slowly died down until they were nonexistent. Still they refused to release her. They would be the pillar that she needed at the moment.
Eventually her breathing evened out and it only took them a moment to realize she had fallen asleep. Allowing Mod-chan to take her, Rosan watched silently as she clutched the older woman, like her life depended on it, and buried her head into the Devil Fruit's ample bosom.
Mod-chan inclined her head silently and began to walk away so she could find somewhere to let Robin rest.
As she rounded the corner and disappeared, Rosan finally allowed his full anger to be brought to the forefront again.
He snarled hatefully as he recalled the story he heard from Robin-nee. "Who do the Marines think they are to decide who gets to live and who gets to die?" Rosan growled.
"Aren't they supposed to be the good guys? Why is it that every time I encounter one, I wanna hurt them as badly as they hurt me?"
Rosan was furious. The boy was practically seeing red as insidious thoughts about the World Government began making its way into his head.
It was true. All things Rosan heard about the marines, only painted them in a negative light to the little boy. There were good Marines he was sure of it but, the bad ones made the redhead want to vomit.
They stay on his island killing every single baby just so that they could get their hands on his little brother, killing his mother in the process, and now they completely lay waste to an island, leaving his friend with nothing but a bounty, simply because they could read a language?
Unforgivable.
There was no doubt in his mind now. Rosan knew what he needed to do.
The Marines would regret all their corrupt decisions that caused Rosan to lose so much. He would make sure of it. For hurting everything he cared for, Ace, Mama, Mod-chan, Robin-nee. For hurting them and making them cry… he would make sure they got what they deserved.
Rosan swore they would pay.
End chapter.
Slight Age Sheet.
Ages
Portgas D. Rosan—4 (soon to be 5! His birthday is March 12th!)
Modification -? (Appears 18)
Nico Robin—8 (Soon to be 9)
Portgas D. Ace—3 weeks old.
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